Skip to main content

Fearing Russia, Sweden holds biggest war games in 20 years

By
Sweden (Reuters) - Neutral Sweden has launched its biggest war games in two decades with support from NATO countries, drilling 19,000 troops after years of spending cuts that have left the country fearful of Russia’s growing military strength.
On the eve of Russia’s biggest manoeuvres since 2013, which NATO says will be greater than the 13,000 troops Moscow says are involved, Sweden will simulate an attack from the east on the Baltic island of Gotland, near the Swedish mainland.
“The security situation has taken a turn for the worse,” Micael Byden, the commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, said during a presentation of the three-week-long exercise.
Sweden, like the Baltics, Poland and much of the West, has been deeply troubled by Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula Crimea and its support for rebels in eastern Ukraine.
“Russia is the country that affects security in Europe right now with its actions - the annexation of the Crimea and continued battles in eastern Ukraine - so it is clear that we are watching very closely what Russia is doing,” Byden said.
Around 1,500 troops from the United States, France, Norway and other NATO allies are taking part in the exercise dubbed Aurora.
Non-NATO member Sweden has decided to beef up its military after having let spending drop from over 2 percent of economic output in the early 1990s to around 1 percent, and is re-introducing conscription
The armed forces, which at one point could mobilise more than 600,000, stand at just 20,000, with 22,000 more Home Guard volunteers.   
NATO generals say the Aurora exercise is not a response to Russian exercises that start on Thursday.
Slideshow (9 Imag

es)
But Byden, speaking as U.S. and French forces displayed mobile surface-to-air missile systems to be deployed during the exercise, stressed the importance of NATO for Sweden.

“We are a sovereign country that takes care of and is responsible for our safety. We do this together with others, ready to both support and receive help,” he said.
The United States shipped vehicles by sea from Germany, while France brought others by train. They are to be moved via a classified route to Sweden’s east coast for the exercise where U.S. attack helicopters will play the enemy during Aurora.
The government is determined to stick to the country’s formal neutrality. Sweden has not fought a war since it clashed with Norway in 1814.
    But like its non-NATO neighbour Finland, Sweden has been drawing closer to NATO, allowing closer cooperation with alliance troops, with a view to working together in the event of an armed conflict.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Curfew imposed in wana after ‘Taliban’ attack PTM,s Leaders

By
10 PTM activists, including Wazir’s cousin, injured in the attack PakistanToday : At least 10 people were injured and two suspected Taliban militants were killed in an attack on activists of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), including Ali Wazir and his cousin, in Wana, leading to curfew being imposed in the area. The injured were shifted to Agency Headquarter Hospital Wana for medical treatment where they were declared to be out of danger. According to reports, differences between the two parties developed on Saturday when pro-government militant leader Ain Ullah Wazir forcefully snatched caps from PTM activists and set them on fire. Following the incident, Ali Wazir had condemned the act and called for a sit-in protest from Monday. The militants retaliated and attacked the Mirzalam Khan Wazir Market and the nearby petrol pump, owned by Ali Wazir. However, before the attack, they went to Ali Wazir’s home, armed with guns, and asked him to leave the area of quit PTM....
Post a Comment
Read more

Russia's says Syria chemical weapons attack was free Plane

By
Monitor Desk: The U.S. has blood and urine samples from the area the U.S. has blood and urine samples from the area that have tested positive for chemical weapons, according to two American officials.at have tested positive for chemical weapons, according to two American officials. Russia said Friday it had “irrefutable” evidence that the deadly Syria chemical weapons attack that has prompted the U.S. to consider airstrikes was fabricated. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference that there was a “very alarming atmosphere” over the issue and likened plans for a military response to failed action in Libya. “God forbid any other military gambles will be taken in Syria,” he said. Related Lavrov cited "irrefutable data that [this] was yet another staged event and staging was done … by the special services of one of the countries at the forefront of the anti-Russia campaign." His comments come after President Donald Trump called last Saturday’s attack...
Post a Comment
Read more

China finds no radiation issues after North Korea bomb test

By
A North Korean state handout shows Kim Jong-un in a test facility China has concluded that radiation levels remain normal in the provinces near the North Korean border after the reclusive state conducted a powerful nuclear test last week, sparking concerns of residual environmental damage. China's Ministry of Environmental Protection announced last night it was ending its emergency radiation monitoring in response to the blast last week, which North Korea claimed was the successful detonation of a hydrogen bomb. "A comprehensive assessment has concluded that this DPRK nuclear test has caused no environmental impact on China," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website, using the initials of the North's official name. "After eight days of continuous monitoring, no abnormal results were shown." More than 1,000 aerosol, air, iodine, water and sediment samples were taken at monitoring stations in northeast Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaon...
Post a Comment
Read more